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Bentham’s Utilitarian Penal Code

Posted by Steven Sverdlik on 2026-01-12

Jeremy Bentham, one of the ‘founding fathers’ of utilitarianism, wrote the famous book, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Yet few people understand that this was originally supposed to be literally an introduction to material that was to follow it. This material was never published. I completed a guide to An Introduction in 2023. Now I’ve published two articles in The [...]

Creating and communicating colonial authority: Jeremy Bentham and the Indian Penal Code

Posted by Erica Kim Ollikainen-Read on 2025-12-18

What makes laws authoritative? And how do law-makers ensure that the population at large both knows the law, and recognises its authority? My article considers these questions in the context of British colonial India through an examination of the influence of Jeremy Bentham on the drafting of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860. Reflections on the law’s authority, and how it is communicated are [...]

Legalise it! Jeremy Bentham on Drugs

Posted by Greg Cote on 2025-01-08

In recent years, many countries have opted to decriminalize or legalize drug use by moving away from maintaining prohibitions and criminal sanctions. With greater emphasis on harm reduction rather than prosecution, governments have found more effective ways to manage illicit drug use through increased tolerance. While this may be considered a relatively new approach to an old problem, it is [...]